EMI’s long-playing £1.2billion sale to Universal Music is set to be given the go-ahead by European regulators this week.

But Universal, owned by French conglomerate Vivendi, will likely be forced to sell most of Parlophone, the record label behind Kylie Minogue, Blur and Coldplay, to hit the right note over competition fears. A formal decision is due later this month.

The European Commission was concerned that Universal, home to artists including The Rolling Stones and Take That, would become too powerful swallowing EMI whole. But it is expected to be able to keep the lucrative Beatles catalogue and other leading artists.

The sale of Parlophone and several smaller labels is expected to raise more than £200million

More than 20 potential buyers are understood to have sounded out investment banks hired to sell Parlophone, including BMG, a joint venture between German media group Bertelsmann and buyout firm KKR, and the indie label Mute.

The sale of Parlophone and several smaller labels is expected to raise more than £200million.